Let’s take our bibles tonight and turn to Genesis Chapter 39, we’re going to take time to read the whole chapter together. We’re continuing on in our series of studies in the life of Joseph entitled Severe Mercy. And we are reminding ourselves in so many ways that sometimes God allows those things, he heeds to accomplish those things he loves. And God works all things together in our life for our good and for his glory, and we’re going to see that in different ways along the way. But we started a journey with Joseph and we’re picking up here in Chapter 39 as he’s sold into slavery. And we’re really going to concentrate tonight on the aspect of this chapter that focuses on the attempted seduction of Joseph by Potiphar’s wife.
Now, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, the officer of Pharaoh, captain of the Guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph. And he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his side and served him, then he made him overseer of his house and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus, he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. And he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.
Now, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I. Nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” So it was as she spoke to Joseph day by day that he did not heed her to lie with her or to be with her.
But it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work and none of the man of the house was inside that she caught him by his garment saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. And so it was when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside that she called to the man of her house and spoke to them saying, “See, he has brought into us a Hebrew to mock us. He came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened When he had heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled and went outside.” So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.
Then she spoke to him with words like these saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came into me to mock me. So what happened as I lifted my voice and cried out that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” So it was, when his master heard the words, which his wife spoke to him saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and he gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed the Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison, whatever they did there it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. We trust that God will use his word in each of our lives tonight.
Want to speak on the subject tonight of protected sex. In a world gone mad as it relates to sensuality and sexuality, I don’t know that if you’ve noticed that in a relativistic society, if there is one imperative that remains in relation to morality and sexuality is this, that you wear a condom. That’s the only moral imperative governing our society on the slide. In fact, it was a sex education pamphlet that stated that all kinds of sex is good sex so long as it’s safe sex. That’s the philosophy that governs our society at large.
But you know what? That philosophy of protected sex has not protected sex, or those involved in it. It’s a philosophy that has failed. In fact, listen to these words by James Merritt, the Southern Baptist pastor and preacher. “Sex education is primarily a con job pushing nothing except contraceptives and condoms.” But it’s not working. Since 1970, the federal government has spent $3 billion to promote contraception and safe sex. In the 20 years since the inception of federal family planning programs, there has been an 87% rise in pregnancies for teenagers between the ages of 15 through 19. Unplanned births have risen 61% and syphilis rates have risen 60% for teenagers 15 through 19 since 1985.
Everybody is talking about birth control, but nobody is talking about self-control. If you put planned parenthood in charge of traffic safety, I have the idea that they would teach our children how to dodge cars instead of teaching them how to stay off the freeway. The philosophy of fear of protected sex has not protected sex nor those involved in it.
Now, if you and I truly want to protect sex, we’ve got to protect it by the fear of God. We’ve got to protect it by respect for the institution of marriage. We’ve got to protect it for a desire for the joy of pure sex within the will of God. That is to truly protect sex, as a gift from God and something to be enjoyed between one man and one woman in the context of a covenant in marriage.
There is a lot of talk about birth control, not a lot of talk about self-control. And I trust our study tonight in the life of Joseph will help change the conversation for us. Because Joseph exemplifies the forgotten alternative of self-control. Here’s a young man that seeks to protect sex as a gift from God, and he seeks to keep himself for the full joy of that experience as God has defined it and indeed defended it in his word.
So I want to come to look at Joseph tonight in a situation of sexual entrapment and enticement. I want to see how he indeed exemplifies self-control as he responds to the overtures of Potiphar’s wife. Here’s a man who’s not driven by the fear of infaction, conception or detaction, here’s a man driven by the fear of God in relation to the issue of sex and sexuality.
There’s a number of things I think the text teaches us, a number of headings I want to gather our thoughts around. If you’re taking notes, we’re going to first of all look at the proposal, then we’re going to look at the refusal, and then we’re going to look at the libel. There’s something refreshing about this story. It’s timeless in terms of its reality, but it’s rather untimely and refreshing in terms of this young man’s response, and I think he has a lot to say to us tonight.
Let’s just look first of all at the proposal, we’ll find it in Verse 7. Joseph has been sold into slavery. He has been bought by a captain of the guard, an Egyptian by the name of Potiphar. And he finds himself in Potiphar’s home, and the Lord is with him. The Lord finds favor with Joseph, and Joseph finds favor with Potiphar because of God’s favor, and things are looking a little bit up.
And into the midst of this we find injected this proposal to sexual enticement and sexual entrapment. In fact, the proposal is simply casual sex without commitment, and hopefully without consequence. Verse 7, “And it came to pass after these things, it is master’s wife cast longing eyes and Joseph and she said, ‘Lie with me.'” Literally in the Hebrew she raised her eyes, she gave him the eye. She winked. She invited him to enjoy casual sex without commitment. That was the proposal. And it was a very real temptation and it was a repeated temptation.
As we look at this proposal, let’s not forget that Joseph was in the full flesh of youthful vigor. He was a red-blooded young man and this temptation must have been very real. He was handsome, he was intelligent, he was engaging, he was personable, and he had caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife. Or we might call her Mrs. Robinson. In fact, when it comes to looks, it seems that Joseph had inherited the good looks of his mother because back in Genesis 29, Verse 17, the exact same Hebrew phrase is used to describe his mother as is used here to describe Joseph.
This temptation was real and repeated. It was real in terms of its appeal because it appealed to a strong natural drive in the life of this young man. It was a temptation that came to Joseph when he was away from home. There were no helps to holiness in terms of Joseph’s contacts. No, this was a very real temptation. It came repeatedly. It came at a time of great vulnerability in his life. It came from a very important woman. It would’ve been neither easy for him to say no as a man and neither safe for him to say no as a slave. It’s a very real temptation, and it was repeated, and it came with great opportunity, because it came when no one was in the house and the master was away. That’s the proposal. It’s the proposal to enjoy sexual fulfillment outside the will of God. It was a proposal that on her end included adultery and on his end included fornication.
Now, as we look at this proposal, I want to see a couple of things about it. One, its timing, and secondly its timelessness. Its timing is interesting, isn’t it? Verse 7, “And it came to pass after these things that the proposal was made.” What things? We’re told that indeed Joseph had caught the eye of his master, he had won his master’s trust, and Potiphar had put under Joseph’s authority all the matters of the house. And I’m sure there were some privileges that came to Joseph because of that. And that’s the timing of this proposal, it comes sneaking up behind these benefits, it comes to him with a measure of vulnerability. FB Meyer says concerning this, “We may expect temptation in days of prosperity and ease, rather than in those of privation and toil. Not where man frown but where they smile. Exquisite smiles of flattery, it is there, it is there that the temperance lies in wait. Beware if thou goest armed anywhere, thou must above all goest armed here.”
[Inaudible 00:14:21] its timing. It comes at a time of prosperity, when things were looking up. And I think you and I just as it relates to temptation in general, perhaps this temptation in particular, the timing is always interesting. When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus refused to cave into that temptation, we read in Luke Chapter 4 Verse 13 that the devil left him until a more opportune time. The devil likes to pick his moment. The world waits till we’re vulnerable to pounce. The devil looks for an unguarded moment and it come when we’re done or it can come when we’re up. It can come when we’re done because then we’re tempted to doubt God or it can come when we’re up and we’re left trusting in ourselves.
But I want you to notice simply its timing. This was a very real and appealing temptation, came at a time of vulnerability with great opportunity to a young man who has natural instincts and God-given drives. And I think you and I need to be alert to that fact. Whether at a time of adversity or a time of advancement, you and I need to be on our guard. As Peter says, always sober and always vigilant because our enemy goes about seeking whom he may devour. And there are different times the enemy might come to us, especially as it relates to sexual temptation. He might come particular seasons in life, midlife when we’ve settled down into a routine, when life is maybe flattened out a little, when the zip has gone. He might come at certain times in the day, say late at night when we’re tired letting our guard down, not watching what we’re watching.
It even may come at points of failure when you’ve already failed and you might rationalize yourself, “What’s one more sin?” There’s all sorts of ways in which Satan can pick his moment to pounce. FB Meyer makes an argument, “You need to be on your guard just as much in times of prosperity as in times of adversity.” But just note the timing of it, and the Bible does note the timing of it. It came the pass after these things that the master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph. If you remember back some years ago, IRA tried to kill Mrs. Thatcher who was then prime minister of Britain. They tried to kill her in a hotel in Brighton where her political party was meeting for its national conference. The bomb had been hidden in the hotel for some weeks with a delayed switch. The bomb went off, a number of people were killed including some friends of Margaret Thatcher and some in her close cabinet.
And the day after the bombing and the news broke that she had survived this assassination attempt, the IRA Army Council in Dublin issued this statement, “Yesterday we failed and you were lucky. You have to be lucky every time, we only have to be lucky once.” And I think that reminds us of what we’re up against in terms of moral terrorism, in terms of the enemy that seeks to kill our effectiveness for God and destroy our marriage, put a kink in God’s blessing across generations. We need to be aware of this proposal, it’s very real, it’s repeated and certainly something that we have some understanding of in our culture. We live in a culture that just badgers us and bears us to engage in casual sex without commitment. If there’s one imperative, it’s simply that you protect yourself, but that protection is no protection, certainly no protection against the wrath of God and the emptiness of living outside his will.
But not only do we see its timing, I want you to see its timelessness. Does this text not describe a scene that while it may date back some 4,000 years, it’s a scene out of the latest soap opera? It’s the storyline of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster? That’s a fact. This is the stuff that’s written about in magazines. This is the stuff that’s the storyline of novels and the theme of movies. Casual sex on the basis of physical attraction. And I think the thing we want to take from this is we are reading a story some 4,000 years, more than… Some 4,000 years ago. It reminds us that we are not the first generation to deal with this problem or to face this temptation. In fact, if we’re not careful, you would think we’re the ones that invented sex, that we are the only generation that has truly thought about it or had to deal with its problems and its perplexities.
Now, this modern phenomena is no new problem. It’s been with us for a long time. In fact, Alistair Begg in his book on Joseph tells us that Egyptian women of that day were notorious for lewdness and for immorality. The pharaohs had a hard time finding a woman who had not been with four or five other men. In fact, there’s a story from the annals of Egyptian history of a king who looked for a woman who had been faithful to her husband, and when he found her, he took her from her husband and made her his wife. This is timeless. It reminds us that this is a scene from last night’s TV show and we are not the first generation to have to deal with this trap or with this temptation.
Now, as with Joseph, every generation will be brought to the crossroads between opportunity for casual sex and obedience to God, between right and wrong, between promiscuity and propriety, between God’s demands and our desires. Now, this is timeless. But his response is rather untimely, and that’s what to me is rather refreshing about this proposal. We see its timing, we’re now looking at its timelessness, but Joseph’s response is rather refreshing. And it speaks to us since he faced the same temptation as we do. Do we respond in the same way he did?
I don’t want to minimize the seismic change in our culture. We may be living in the last days and the Bible tells us the last days will be difficult days to live in. Men will be seekers of pleasure rather than God. I don’t want to minimize the changes that are going on our society. The old morality has been thrown out. The moors that held us together as a society now have been broken and we live in a culture adrift on a sea of relativism. Men are growing worse. Just when you think you’ve heard the latest shocking story, some new bent and perversion on man’s sexual behavior, you find that there’s another story that tops that story.
But in saying that, essentially there’s nothing new under the sun. Joseph lived in a very sexually loose and lewd culture and that’s why we look at this and we can identify with it. There’s something that’s timeless about it. But there’s something refreshing about Joseph’s stance, and what’s refreshing about it is its challenge. We want to make excuses for our sin, don’t we? Given the change in our culture, I’m hearing a lot of talk about we need to try and understand what our young people are up against, and there’s a truth to that, but as long as we don’t infer by that statement that you know we’re going to cut them some slack or we’re going to give them a break.
In fact, just a number of months ago we had to deal with a situation in our [inaudible 00:23:59] program where we brought an outside speaker in and she spoke to the mothers about how they ought to help educate their children about sex and sexuality and some of that was appropriate. For a time, she spoke about the desirability to encourage our young people to abstinence and to fight against the push of the world. But to our surprise and something we had to chastise her about and go back and apologize to our ladies about was that before she was done, she made this statement, “But given the nature of sexual temptation, we do need to teach our children how to protect themselves.” That’s a rather shocking statement for a Christian teacher to make in the light of Ephesians 5:3 where we’re told that the kind of behavior of the world’s not even to be named among us.
Of course, the temptation is real. Of course, the temptation is repeated. Of course, some of the things that stood as bulwarks and barriers a generation ago have been removed. But I think Joseph teaches us we don’t need to make excuses for our sin. Here’s a young man who refuses the seduction of Potiphar’s wife. Here’s a young man who pushes back as the world pushes in. And I think Joseph is a challenge to us. The sin is timeless, but his reaction is fresh and challenging and cuts no slack to us, that if we will live for the glory of God, if we will draw upon the grace of God, we can stay pure. We can protect sex by the fear of God, by a respect for marriage, and by a desire to enjoy it within the protection of God’s will itself.
That’s the proposal, its timing, its timelessness. What about the refusal? We read here that he refused. Joseph said no to the solicitation and that’s what’s refreshing about this. He wanted to avoid another pit. He had already experienced one pit. But he sees in this approach, an appeal by Potiphar’s wife another pit, a pit that’s spoken about in Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23 in Verse 27 here’s what we read, “For a harlot is a deep pit and a seductress, an narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim and increases the unfaithful among man.” His refusal here is refreshing and I want us to look at it. I want us to see what pled into his saying no when many in his situation may have said yes.
After all, this was a very real and appealing temptation. Joseph had no helps to holiness. He had no small group to keep him accountable. He had no recourse to the government to file a sexual harassment case. He was far from home, he was vulnerable. There was great opportunity. But he refuses. There’s a refusal in the light of the proposal. And I think there’s a few things we want to notice. First of all, we want to notice that with his heart he refused. Secondly, we want to notice with his mind he reasoned. And thirdly, we want to notice with his feet he retreated. That’s his game plan. And it worked then and I think it’ll work now. With his heart, he refused.
This wasn’t a crisis of circumstances, this wasn’t a crisis of culture. This was a crisis of commitment. And Joseph was committed to the glory of God, to keeping the law of God, to walking in the will of God. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said, “Lie with me,” but he refused. No bones about it, no second thoughts, no waiting. I’m told there are 490,000 words in the English language plus 300,000 technical terms. That’s nearly 800,000 words in all, but the most neglected word in the English language is the word no. We need to learn to say no in so many ways and in so many things. And do you realize that according to Titus 2 Verse 12 that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness?
And the grace of God was operating in Joseph’s life and had taught him to say no. Joseph knew what God expected, he knew God’s standards, and by God’s grace he had committed to keeping them. And that was something that Joseph didn’t make his mind up at that moment. This was a deep-seated commitment. This was something that was part and parcel of who and what he was. And we need young people who will say no and not abuse God’s gift of sex. We need young people who will say no, who have made an exclusive commitment to another person. We need couples going through the uncertain waters of middle life to say no to the temptation to ruin a testimony built over years. We need to learn to say no.
Listen to these words by Woody Allen, the Hollywood director. They’re rather raw, but I think they make a point worth hearing. “People talk all the time about oral contraception. The greatest form of oral contraception I’ve ever come across is when I asked the girl to go to bed with me and she said no.” Joseph refused. With his heart, he refused. His heart was in love with God and it evidenced itself in this commitment. And if we feel or if we fall in this area, it’s not because of a crisis of circumstances, and it’s not because of a crisis of culture, it’s a crisis of commitment. Who are you committed to? God? And with God’s commandments comes God’s enablements, and if you’re committed to keeping his commands, God is committed to giving you the grace to keep them.
With his heart, he refused. But here’s another thing. With his mind, he reasoned. It’s interesting, as he engages Potiphar’s wife and responds to her, he’s got arguments as to why he’s refusing. He’s not short of an argument. He’s not making his mind up on the moment. And he shows us how powerful an ally our minds can be in terms of the war within. Remember, our minds are the command and control center of life. Proverbs 23, Verse 7, “As a man thinks, so is he.” What you think about will ultimately direct your feet and the path you’ll take in life. Our thoughts lead to choices. Our choices lead to actions. Our actions form character. And our character determines the quality of our life and the direction of our eternity.
And the battle for the mind is strategic in the fight for purity. Jesus taught us, didn’t he? In Matthew 5, Verse 27, that sex begins in the mind. You have heard it say, don’t commit adultery. I say to you, don’t even lust, for if you lust, you’ve committed adultery in your mind. Jesus traces the issue of adultery to lust, and lust begins in the mind. Our minds are our greatest sexual organ, and Jesus warns us about that. Before a man or a woman will get into bed with another person, will they not anticipate that act in their minds?
The mind is a powerful ally. The mind is our greatest sexual organ. And when we come into this context, we read that Joseph refuses. And he says to his master’s wife, “Look, my master did not know what was with me in the house and he has committed all this to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I. Nor has he kept anything back from me because you are his wife. How can I do this great wickedness?” Sorry. “Except you because you’re his wife. How can I then do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And so was as she spoke to Joseph Day by day that he did not heed her. To her advancement, there were his arguments.
Let me just note a few of them. There were a number of reasons why he refused. His responsibility to others. These are the things you need to think about in the war within. Joseph was given responsibilities, he notes that. “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house and he has committed all that he has into my hand.” I think Joseph realized that no man is an island, we all are part of a fabric of relationships interwoven by trust and respect and responsibility. And you and I must respond to certain situations in life in the light of our responsibilities. He did.
He responds in the light of his responsibilities. “I can’t do what you’re asking me to do, number one, because of my responsibility to others. I’m not going to betray your husband. He’s invested in me. He has shown kindness to me. He’s been good to me. I am not about to betray that trust. I’m not about to hurt him. I’m not about to enjoy something for myself at his expense.” I think there’s an interesting play in words because he says here, “Look, your husband has put everything into my hand and that’s why he leaves his coat in hers hand.” Read it in Verse 12, he left his coat in her hand. He understood, “Your husband has put all this into my hand,” and he leaves his coat in her hand and gets out of there.
His responsibility to others. Secondly, his reverence for marriage. Did you notice that? Verse 9, “There’s no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept anything from me but you because you’re his wife.” Again, this is the thought process. Joseph is saying, “I understand God’s intention in marriage. Marriage is between one man and one woman for life. And I respect marriage. I understand that it’s the cornerstone of society. I believe it’s foundational to the health of a people or a culture or a community.” And he says, “Out of respect for marriage, I’m not about to touch you. You’re not mine to touch.” He’s not short of an argument, does he? His responsibility to others, his reverence for marriage, his relationship with God.
Joseph was alive to the righteousness of God. “How can I do this? I can’t do it in the light of his goodness to me. I can’t do it in the light of the importance and the reverence I have for marriage. And I can’t do it because it would be a great wickedness and sin against God.” Joseph lived in the conscious presence of God. He’s got the presence of mine at that moment, not to just look at her, but to look at God. He’s alive to the righteousness of God. He’s still got an ability to be shocked by sin. I don’t know what she said to him, but I’m sure she made little of the act. It was something to be casually entered into. No complications, no commitments, no consequences. And one of the devil’s tricks in his campaign to promote sin is to limit godliness in terms of calling sin something other than it is. It’ll make it less objectionable, more enticing, more appealing.
And she says, “Come lie with me.” But as Joseph looks at that situation says, “No, that is a great wickedness. This isn’t just a fling, a thing on the side. No, this is a great wickedness.” And our greatest security against sin is our ability to be shocked by it. And Joseph is a tremendous challenge in a culture given over to godlessness, a culture given over to sexual lewdness. He walks the streets in the paths of Egypt and sees it all, but he still retains his moral center and his moral compass. He’s informed by the law of God. He looks at things in light of the holiness of God. He still has an ability to be shocked by sin, and that’s a bulwark in his life.
And you and I must fight the temptation to indeed lower our guard and to redefine sin and not to see it as it truly is. And the culture will aid us and abet us in that if we wish it. It’ll make us laugh at sin. It will redefine it and recategorize it. Listen to this. In 1859, the American Medical Association labeled abortion, listen, wanton and murderous destruction. That’s how America wants to find abortion. But by 1967, it had become, quote, “The interruption of an unwanted pregnancy.” It’s describing the same thing, certainly describing it in different terms, isn’t it? In fact, now it’s just simply got to being called what? A medical procedure.
It was once called a wanton murderous act, now it’s a medical procedure. And that’s what’s in vogue today. People no longer commit adultery, they have an affair, or a meaningful relationship. Homosexuality isn’t a perversion, it’s an acceptable alternative lifestyle. And sin is being whitewashed. That doesn’t impress God, and it certainly shouldn’t make an impression on us. I like the story of Abraham Lincoln once asked by a critic. Abraham Lincoln once asked the critic, “How many legs would a dog have if you counted its tail as a leg?” The man replied, “Five.” Lincoln replied, “No, the answer is four, just calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” And we can call sin by any other name, but that doesn’t make it right.
And I think you and I want to be challenged by Joseph here. With his heart, he refused. With his mind, he reasoned. And as he reasoned, he thought about his responsibility to Potiphar, he thought about the importance of marriage and his desire for the good of society and the glory of God to [inaudible 00:41:34] its importance and leave another man’s wife alone because that woman didn’t belong to him. He was also motivated by the reverence for God. And I think also finally a respect for self.
I think God’s purposes in Joseph’s life will unfold and flower and blossom to a great extent as time goes by, and he’ll understand more looking back than looking forward. But we do know from Chapter 37 in one of our earlier studies that he had a sense through those dreams that God had something special for him. I want to believe it’s not so much explicit in the text as implicit that Joseph was keeping himself for the blessing of God. Joseph was not about to undo and torpedo the promises of God’s good pleasure in his life. He was convinced that God had a purpose for his life and he was not going to let the prospects be diminished of that goodness and that grace through a momentary pleasure outside the wall of God. A moment of pleasure was not going to rob him of a lifetime of profit. I’m sure Joseph’s glad looking back when he gets to that place of elevation and blessing that he didn’t make a horrendous mistake at this point in his life.
Do you see how he reasons? Do you rehearse those arguments in your mind day by day? Are you constantly renewing your mind so that you’re not being pressed into the mold of the world in its thinking and its ways? James Fix is one of the better known runners of the 1970s. He’s written a popular book called The Complete Book of Running. And in Chapter 7, he’s got a chapter entitled Getting Good at It. And Fix says this quote, “When we race, strange things happen in our minds. The stress of fatigue sometimes makes us forget why we wanted the race in the first place. In one of my early marathons, I found myself on able to think of a single reason for continuing. Physically and mentally exhausted. I dropped out of the race, Now I won’t enter a marathon unless I truly want to finish it. If during the race, I can’t remember why I wanted to run in it, then I tell myself, ‘Maybe I can’t remember now, but I know I had a good reason when I started.'”
Our minds place tricks on us and the world tries to muddle our thinking, and you and I need to constantly being reminding ourselves of the reasons why we’re going to stay pure, why we’re going to keep ourself for that husband or that wife if we’re not married or we’re going to stay true to the one that God has given us as a gracious gift. With his heart, he refused. With his mind, he reasoned. And ultimately with his feet, he retreated.
Sometimes temptation won’t listen to reason. And in that case, Joseph took the only path available to him and he fled. Look at Verse 10. “So it was as she spoke to Joseph day by day and he answered back day by day. He didn’t heed her.” We read in Verse 11, “But it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work, none of the man of the house was inside. She caught him by the garment and said, ‘Lie with me,’ but he left his garment in her hand and fled outside.” Sometimes the best thing we can do is make a strategic retreat in the face of temptation. He may have lost his coat, but he kept his character.
And one thing that Joseph didn’t try to do at this particular time was walk a fine line. Joseph didn’t try to court sin, he fled from it. 2 Timothy 2, Verse 22, what do we read? “Flee youthful lusts.” And I think again you and I need to remind ourselves in a world gone mad that you and I need to at times extricate ourselves and extract ourselves from certain situations and with our feet turn away from the path of sin. Is that not the admonition of the wise writer in Proverbs Chapter 7 warning the young man? Basically saying, “Look, I looked out my window, I saw a bonehead who just walked straight into the buzz saw of sexual temptation. I looked through my lattice and there he went down, he went to the wrong side of the street. He turned the wrong corner and he went down into the wrong side of town.” And it goes on to describe how he was led as an ox to the slaughter.
And towards the end of that chapter, the wise writer says to his children, “Therefore, listen to me, my children. Pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways and do not stray into her path, for she will cast you down as she’s cast many down wounded and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell.” Who? The seductress. No debating, no flirtatious conversation here on Joseph’s part. He didn’t trust himself.
Many times if a kid said to you when you’ve set this boundary or that boundary, “Dad, do you not trust me?” No, I don’t. Given that situation, I wouldn’t trust myself. Joseph didn’t trust himself in that situation. He extricated himself as fast as his feet would take him. He didn’t stay to tempt the Lord in the temptation. You ever thought about that? That you linger in the presence of sin to a point where you actually tempt the Lord in the temptation? Remember what Satan did in Matthew Chapter 4, came that Jesus, said, “If you cast yourself off this tall building, he’ll send his angels, your feet won’t be broken against stones”? And Jesus said, “Yeah, I can trust God to do that”? No, Jesus said, “I’m not going to tempt the Lord. I’m not going to do something stupid. I’m not going to do something and ask the Lord to redeem me from my stupidity because moral sensibility would take me in another direction.”
A little boy was sitting on the fence beside the road with his eye on the luscious red apples hanging on nearby tree. The farmer in the field noticed from a distance he drove his tractor over to where the little boy was and said, “Young man, are you trying to steal an apple?” To which the young boy replied, “No, I’m trying not to steal an apple.” He might have helped himself if he got done off the wall and walked in the other direction. [inaudible 00:49:15] with us. I know that that always can’t be easy. But this world is trying to trap us and tempt us, and we need to get radical about our purity. What did Jesus say? “If your eye offends, pluck it out. If your hand offends, cut it off” in the context of sexual temptation in Matthew 5.
And we know he doesn’t mean literally to mutilate yourself. It’s hyperbole. It’s exaggerated language to say, “Do what do it takes.” Because we know this. If lust is your problem and you pluck one eye out, you can lust with the other. That’s not the point. The point is whatever you need to do, do it to retain your character, to maintain your integrity, to protect your purity. Do it. Be radical. Don’t deal with sin with kids’ gloves. The world is like to get you. Satan’s got you in his crosshairs and you need to be radical. You need to refuse with your heart. You need the reason with your mind. And in some context, in the office, in your neighborhood, with somebody’s company, you need to retreat with your feet. For some people that might mean pulling the plug on the TV, stopping your subscription to certain magazine, ending your ability to surf the internet, looking for a transfer in your job.
I remember a young police officer in Northern Ireland coming to me about a situation in private about a girl that was hitting on him. This was a young man totally committed to his wife. This was a young man, I believe with all my heart, wasn’t in any way inviting to this and asked me what my best advice was. And I said, “You’re her sergeant, aren’t you? Transfer her tomorrow or transfer yourself.” You say, “That’s radical.” Jesus said to get radical about your purity and Joseph is radical.
Brings us to the last thought, which is only momentary. We have the libel. The libel. He leaves her. And hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn. And so she concocts this story about Joseph and basically says that he hit on her and he tried to mock her. And so she labels him and she libels him. And when it’s all said and done, Joseph finds himself in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined in Verse 29. This is a little sidebar. I do think it’s interesting that Potiphar doesn’t kill Joseph. He’s a slave. Why didn’t he? Maybe does he have some suspicions about his wife? That aside, we see Joseph’s reward for faithfulness. Prison. Thank you Lord.
And I think you and I need to just take a couple of takeaways from this. Don’t expect people to pat you on the back when you do what’s right. Okay. Joseph got no Pat on the back for doing what was right. He did what was right. In fact, think about it, he actually argued with her about her husband. “He’s a good man and I would do nothing to hurt him.” And his master buys into the lie that deception and begins to hurt Joseph. We read in Psalm 105 that he was put in stocks and chains, and at least initially.
And the second takeaway is this, don’t expect things to get better necessarily when you’ve done what’s right. Or let me put it another way, don’t expect things to be put right just because you do right. Now, get that down. Don’t expect things to be put right just because you do right. There’s the proposal, and Joseph’s refusal. Joseph, you did the right thing. What about the libel? The consequences of his faithfulness was imprisonment. And you and I mustn’t confuse immediate results with longterm benefits in terms of obedience. And that’s something we’ve got to get our heads around. Does obeying God always pay? Not immediately. Christ obeyed and was crucified. Joseph obeyed and was put in prison.
Here’s the last thought. Brings us to remind ourselves that there’s an interplay going on here. I think we’ve always got to stay at the 33,000-foot level when we look at the story of Joseph. For while this story is included in the narrative and while I think we can justify looking at it and coming away with some game plan for sexual purity, the point of the story and the narrative is to tell us how Joseph gets to where? To the king’s palace. And we need to take the 33,000-foot view and remember there’s an interplay going on here between what men are doing and what God is doing. God is using Potiphar’s wife’s libel and slander to put Joseph in the path of future blessing.
And we see again that all things are working together for good. On the human level, Joseph is resisting sin. On the divine level, God is triumphing over sin, using it. And you and I don’t want to lose sight of that. Here’s the thought as we close in a finishing story. The back door to the prison became the front door to the palace. Joseph was in the prison, the place were the king’s prisoners were kept, and it’s there he’ll meet the butler and the baker. It’s there that a chain reaction of circumstances will trigger his entrance into Pharaoh’s Court. And the immediate results of his faithfulness, nothing to write home about, but God is working his perfect world and working all things together for good.
I don’t know if you ever heard the story of Lee Trevino, the PGA golfer who narrowly escaped a lightning strike. And sometime later in the day he was interviewed about it and he was asked what he thought about it. And he said, “When God wants to play through, you better let him.” And I think Joseph teaches that God likes to play through the mess, the struggles, the issues of life, which include temptations. And God is using all of these things in Joseph’s life and his obedience to get him to where he needs to go.
Let’s pray and then Christian’s just going to come and sing a song for us. Lord, we thank you for the timelessness of this passage of scripture. We could dust it down and see it as simply an historic event, but Lord, we feel a connection with Joseph and that which he faces. We live in a seducing society that seeks to rob us of all that’s pure and innocent. We find ourselves tempted on every corner. And the world tells us, “Come lie with me.”
Lord, help us indeed to refuse. Help us to purpose in our hearts, to possess our bodies with honor. Lord, help us to reason in our minds on a regular basis why we mustn’t give in to the world, or help us indeed in certain situations to do that which is necessary, even if it means a hard run from a certain person or from a certain situation. Lord, help us not to lose our nerve when things don’t go right when we do right. Help us, Lord, to continue in the same direction and long obedience to you, trusting that indeed you are in your sovereign mercy playing through our lives and working all things together for good. For these things we ask and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.